LONDON - Denver, Colorado Mayor Wellington E. Webb, who serves as the President of The U. S. Conference of Mayors, (USCM) will hold a press conference to talk about the role and function of the Mayor in a city, and to offer his own observations on the current London Mayor's race. In addition, he will discuss the USCM's "Cities 2000" initiative, and the prospective role of the Mayor of London in the international arena.

Mayor Webb, who is visiting London to officiate at the opening of the City of Denver Trade Office on March 15 said, "The citizens of London are participating in an historic and tremendously exciting mayoral campaign. It is both a privilege and tremendous responsibility to serve as mayor of a large city. Of all the levels of government, municipal government has the most substantial and enduring impact on the quality of life of our residents. On both sides of the Atlantic, our large cities share common challenges in areas such as transportation, growth, economic development and opportunity, race relations and public safety. I hope to learn from the ideas being put forth in the London mayoral race and, in turn, to share some of my experiences and observations related to running a large city.

This event is one in a series of international exchanges taking places as part of The United States Conference of Mayors' "Cities 2000" initiative. "Cities 2000" was launched earlier this year by Mayor Webb, to promote the role of cities in the international economic and political arena, and to facilitate the exchange of metropolitan best practices and strategies across continents.

The United States Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. As President of The United states Conference of Mayors, Mayor Webb represents over 1,100 Mayors throughout the United States. Each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor.